An electrical connection can be made between two electrical devices, usually using a male and female electrical contact. One part of the connection has a male contact with an electrical pin and the other part is a female contact in the form of a socket for receiving the male contact.
Known female contacts include a female contact formed of a cylindrical base, the base having a stamped four finger clip inserted into one end. Examples of such known contacts are those of the Datamate and Micro D range that are manufactured by Harwin PLC. One problem with this type of contact is that, on a miniature scale, it is difficult to form the base and clip because these must be formed of very thin material that will not have the mechanical strength required to survive the insertion of the clip into the base. This problem is a significant barrier in the design and manufacture of complex miniature scale electrical contacts. In the present specification the term ‘miniature’ should be understood to mean length scales of the order of approximately a tenth of a millimeter up to a centimeter or so.
GB 2501063 A discloses a method of manufacturing a female electrical contact from a single piece of material by removal of material from the piece of material by machining, the removal of material comprising the steps of: forming at least one first hole in a first end of the material to form a contact portion, the at least one first hole formed along a longitudinal axis X of the material; making at least two slits in the contact portion to produce contact fingers, the slits extending from the first end along at least a portion of length of the contact portion. A corresponding single piece female contact is provided.